Realtors suggest avoiding bright colors, and to paint rooms a neutral color when listing a home for sale. / Photo Courtesy of Trace Ventures

Written by

Bill Lewis

For The Tennessean

Renovation tips

Renovations can improve a home’s value and help it stand out. Here are suggestions from Realtors Clay Kelton, Charlotte Ann Edwards and Terry McAlister. • New paint inside and outside • New stainless kitchen appliances • Granite countertops in the kitchen and baths • A kitchen island • New carpet or hardwoods • Crown molding • Convert a 1½-bath home to two full baths • A new roof • Landscaping (even fresh mulch can help)

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Emily and Gregory Fenske always regretted painting their home office orange and were concerned it would make their Sylvan Park house harder to sell.

They happily followed their Realtor’s advice and repainted with a neutral grey color. The day their house went on the market last week, they had an offer in hand.

The Fenskes don’t think that was just a coincidence.

“The first thing we did was paint that room. When you sell a house, you want to find easy jobs that have a big impact,” Emily Fenske said.

Much of the Nashville region has become a sellers’ market, but not every house draws top offers. Realtors throughout the region are advising clients how to make home improvements that will increase the value of their house and attract buyers.

“It’s a price war and a beauty contest,” said Charlotte Ann Edwards, a Realtor for Parks Properties.

New paint, in neutral colors, is at the top of the list for Clay Kelton, the Fenskes’ Realtor.

“Avoid ‘opinionated’ colors. You want to appeal to the broadest audience possible,” said Kelton, with Pilkerton Realtors.

You can blame television for the high expectations of many home buyers, said Terry McAlister, broker for McAlister and Young.

“People are watching too many of those HGTV shows,” she said.

Picky buyers have even been known to peek inside the cabinets under the kitchen sink.

“If it looks like you’re nice and neat and organized, it helps with the sale, McAlister said. “It goes back to the biblical statement, ‘cleanliness is next to godliness.’ ”

Choose projects

Edwards advises homeowners who plan to sell any time soon to avoid projects that won’t pay for themselves or might reduce the home’s value.

“A pool. You may love a pool, but there are people who won’t buy a house with a pool. Sometimes people even fill them in,” she said. “There are things you want to do, very personal things, but they don’t bring value to the buyers.”